darryls_booksfandomcom-20200215-history
Dark Blaze
Dark Blaze is an up-and-coming classic horror novel by Darryl M. Finch-Ellis. ''Dark Blaze will be independently published through K.D.P. on Amazon while Darryl reaches and begins talks with literary agents. Due to the limited information Finch-Ellis has released, this wiki page will be subject to change once the novel is published. At this moment in time Dark Blaze centers around the main protagonist, Nicholas Aero. Nicholas Aero is a veteran of the First World War who enlisted at the start of the war in 1914, aged only 16. During his time in the Great War he is exposed to the fact that the creatures of the night do indeed exist. During his time fighting in Europe, he comes across who would become the main antagonist of the novel, Hadrian Voivode, who fought for the Central Powers. On December 27th, 1918, two days after Christmas, Nicholas returns home only to find, for him, the war was still not over. Hadrian is the least of Nicholas' problems once he returns to the British Isles, with fouler forces exploiting the huge lose of life from the Great War to their advantage and creating chaos in their aimless lust for flesh. After the traumatic event of December 1918, the young ex-soldier spearheads a personal vindictive crusade against all the supernatural creatures that walk the night, these creatures that stalk and feed off the flesh of the innocent, and Nicholas will not rest until every monster he comes across is erased from the face of the earth. '''Setting: Dark Blaze takes place both during and after the Great War. As of yet, the sample chapters, and Darryl M. Finch-Ellis has stated himself, that the novel will primarily take place in England one year after the end of World War One. Darryl M. Finch-Ellis has also stated he has used only real world locations, all based roughly on how they were during that point in time. Plot Summary: With the information made public the whole plot has not yet been revealed, however, this is what we know up-to-now based on the sample chapters. The novel opens during a storm in Barley, Lancashire where the Aero Farm is located, in December 1918. Catherine Bolton, Nate Bolton and Byron Aero live at the Aero farmhouse and eagerly await the return of Nicholas Aero, Catherine's fiance and Byron's father. Nicholas is still in Europe amidst the chaos caused by the ending of the Great War. A knock is heard at the door and it is revealed to be a man named Hadrian, who asks to use their landline telephone as his car had broken down. He is invited to tea and during the night time it is revealed that Hadrian is in fact a vampire who proceeds to slaughter the family. In October 1919, after having a nightmare, Nicholas awakens and interrogates a vampire that is apart of Hadrian's Pack, named Donald. Nick gains the location of Hadrian, who is in Bicester, then proceeds to burn Donald alive before making his way to Bicester in his black Ford Model T car. Hadrian is looking for a new bride due to two of his brides having been killed by Nicholas. Alundra Gardner was the spitting image of Hadrian's late wife; Miranda, and Hadrian desires to turn Alundra into a vampire to replace Miranda. Nicholas scopes out Bicester and then begins to follow Miss Gardner. That night Alundra and her best friend Maissy go to a hotel room with a man named Reginald, who is a vampire unbeknownst to them. Reg brings Hadrian in and Reg kills Maissy before Hadrian attempts to turn Alundra into a vampire. This all fails as Nicholas comes bursting through the hotel room's door and instantly kills Reginald by riddling his body full of silver ball-bearings shot from his sawed-off double-barrel shotgun. Hadrian, albeit, manages to escape by jumping, and smashing, through the hotel room's window, being shot by Aero. Background: Darryl M. Finch-Ellis has always been a fan of classic gothic horror, and has desired to write and publish a novel of that genre since 2013. It was in 2014 that Darryl began to talk with friends about the potential to write a classic horror novel, at first naming it Black Blaze and basing it on modern day. Over the years the plot was laid out further until completion, and Darryl desired to make it stand out and have a unique flavour by having it being based around the First World War. He had wanted to write a novel based around that time period and believed that these two ideas would fuse well together. Finch-Ellis had managed to write three chapters, however based in the modern time, before he decided to change the beginning. By the time Darryl began the second version of the novel he had already began writing Cataclysm ''which halted any working on any other projects, as he felt he needed to give his undivided attention to ''Cataclysm. Once Cataclysm was complete, Darryl desired to finally complete his long desired classic gothic horror novel he had previous started four-years-prior. By this time the grounds for the novel being based in and around the First World War had been noted down and Darryl began his new project. Dark Blaze began, at first, to be around twenty-three to twenty-five chapters long, however, Finch-Ellis has stated that Dark Blaze will now be around eighty chapters long, and cover events during the Great War, and chapters centralising around the novel's antagonist, Hadrian Voivode. Characters: Nicholas Aero: Nicholas is the primary protagonist of the novel. He is a veteran of the Great War, having enlisted in 1914 at the age of 16, wishing to get away from the farming life. He had left behind a pregnant fiancee Catherine, elderly father, a soon-to-be brother-in-law Nate, and friends to fight against the Central Powers in Europe. Sometime during his battling in Europe, Nicholas was exposed to the realisation that the creatures of the night existed and from there on, began to kill any unnatural monster he found. This had led to Nick encountering Hadrian Voivode, a vampire who fought for the Central Powers. On the 27th of December, 1918, Nicholas Aero returns home to find his family had been slaughtered and that Hadrian was the cause. He then goes on a personal vendetta led crusade to hunt down and kill Hadrian to avenge his family. Hadrian Voivode: Hadrian is the primary antagonist of the novel. Hadrian is a veteran of many wars throughout human history, also fighting in large scale hidden wars waged by the vampires themselves. During the Great War, Hadrian fought on the side of the Central Powers, making enemies in particular with Nicholas Aero. Before Christmas in 1918, Hadrian visited Nicholas' family home in hopes that he had returned home from the war. When Hadrian found that Nick had not yet returned however, and his family eagerly awaited his return, Hadrian brutally slaughtered his family in retribution for what Nicholas had done during the Great War. Hadrian is now running amok in Britain, searching for potential English women to take as his brides before he returns to mainland Europe. Alundra Gardner: Alundra is a blonde woman who has the misfortune of looking the double of Hadrian's most favoured wife, Miranda. Hadrian desired to turn her into a vampire, yet is thwarted by Nicholas just in the nick of time. Ally's best friend Maissy did not survive the encounter however, having been lured to a hotel room being rented by a vampire under Hadrian's control named Reginald, and killed as an example to Hadrian's version of the natural food chain. Donald Mackie: Donald is a vampire in Hadrian's Pack. Donald was given the orders to help search for potential new brides in Britain by Hadrian. Donald, however, is captured by Nicholas. There he is interrogated and then burned alive by Nick, dying a most gruesome death in October, 1919. Nate Bolton: Nate is the soon-to-be brother-in-law to Nicholas and full-blood brother of Catherine. Although Catherine is younger, Nate listens to her every order. Nate is the leading farmer on the Aero Farm during Nicholas' absence after Nick's father had died. He is a hard worker, even during the winter months. Nate is a veteran of the Second Boer War, however, due to a leg wound sustained by a sharpshooter Nate was medically ruled out of the army when he attempted to reenlist alongside Nick, in 1914. Nate meets his demise at the hands of Hadrian who tears him apart during his visit to the Aero Farm in December, 1918. Catherine Bolton: Catherine is the fiancee of Nicholas, sister of Nate and mother of Byron Aero. Cath loves Nicholas and the two kept constant contact during the Great War. Catherine looked after Nick's father until the old man's death, in 1916. Catherine is killed by Hadrian during his fateful visit to the Aero Farm in December, 1918. Byron Aero: Byron is the son of Catherine Bolton and Nicholas Aero. His parents desired to get married before he was born, however, there was not enough time once the war broke out and Britain began to enlist able bodied men for war. Bryon is four-years-old in December, 1918, during the visit of Hadrian Voivode, where he is frightened of the vampire upon first sight, noticing Hadrian's eyes shine red. Byron is later killed by the visiting vampire that dreadful night. Rover: Rover is the Aero Residence family dog, he was a healthy six-year-old border-collie with large orange eyes. Rover is the first to sense Hadrian, even during a blistering storm. Rover consistently barks all night in hopes of warning his human counterparts that Hadrian was indeed a threat. His barks go on ignored until he is killed by Hadrian, becoming the first victim that bloody night in December, 1918. Reginald Parker: Reginald, or as he prefers to be called; Reg, is a vampire within Hadrian's Pack. Reg is given the task of helping his master locate a worthy replacement for Miranda to become Hadrian's new bride. Reg finds Alundra in Bicester, there he becomes friends with both Alundra and her best friend Maissy, discovering from Maissy that Alundra is a virgin. From there Reginald begins to court Maissy, leaving Alundra for his master. When the plan becomes full-circle and Hadrian arrives to claim his new bride, Reg is told to kill Maissy, which he does without a second thought. Before his master could turn Ally, however, Nicholas bursts through the hotel room door, with a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun in hand and blows Reginald away with silver ball-bearings, killing the vampire instantly. Maissy Dickens: Maissy is Alundra's best friend and works alongside her at the Luna Cafe as a waitress. Maissy is being courted by Reg by the time Nicholas arrives in Bicester. Maissy knows of Hadrian, but not that he is a vampire, only that he is Reg's friend. Maissy and Reg plan for Alundra to meet Hadrian and finally lose her virginity, or so Maissy was led to believe. Once Hadrian arrives the situation changes and the two women are bound. It is here that Maissy is used as an example by Hadrian and is brutally killed by whom she believed to be her man, Reginald Parker. Locations: Dark Blaze uses real-life locations. The current revealed locations are as follows; * Barley, Lancashire, England - 1918. (Chapter One / Chapter Two) * Wootton, Bedfordshire, England - 1919. (Chapter Two) * Bicester, Oxfordshire, England - 1919. (Chapter Three) Current Released Sample Chapters: Darryl M. Finch-Ellis has currently released three sample chapters. You can view all of the first three chapters in their first draft forms exclusively on Finch-Ellis' website, linked HERE YouTube Trailer: Darryl M. Finch-Ellis has released a trailer for Dark Blaze ''which you can watch via the link 'HERE' '''Trivia:' '''''Warning this section contains spoilers of the novel ahead, if you have not read the sample chapters then it is advised you do not read the trivia below. * The novel was originally going to be named Black Blaze, however, Darryl changed this later into the project, around 2015. * Dark Blaze has been in the works since 2014. * Dark Blaze was originally going to be set in modern day, beginning in mid-2012. However, Darryl M. Finch-Ellis desired to place the story in a periodic piece setting to give it more character and uniqueness. * Finch-Ellis has confirmed that there will be chapters during the First World War, as flash backs or maybe a back story running alongside the current story of the novel. * Darryl has also confirmed that there will be chapters focusing more on the antagonist, Hadrian Voivode. * The Dark Blaze Trailer is the first video to be published on Darryl M. Finch-Ellis' YouTube Account. * Darryl desired to revitalise old and classic gothic horror lore and these traditions in the genre are canon within the novel's universe or are nodded to as hidden tributes. * Alundra's original last name was Grainger, but Finch-Ellis believed this would make the readers think of Harry Potter's Hermione Grainger, and so changed her last name to Gardner. * Darryl M. Finch-Ellis has confirmed that this story takes place in the real world and uses real world locations. Additional Links: Darryl M. Finch-Ellis has additional social media accounts you can visit, the links are listed below: * Darryl's Official Website * Darryl's Official Facebook Page * Darryl's Official Twitter Page * Darryl's Official YouTube Account * Darryl's Official Instagram Account * Darryl's Official Soundcloud Account * Darryl's Official Patreon Account